As readers of paidContent.org knew before the press release, former Knight Ridder digital exec Hilary Schneider is joining Yahoo. Some details: Schneider will be SVP of the new business unit Marketplaces, an umbrella for Yahoo’s classifieds and listings. She will be responsible for developing the strategy across Yahoo; she’ll also oversee the U.S. operations including autos, classifieds, HotJobs, personals, real estate, shopping & auctions, travel and Yellow Pages.
—As Rafat reported earlier, Schneider will be reporting to CFO Sue Decker, who is also EVP-finance and administration.  The WSJ (sub. req.) does some tea leaf reading with that info: “It could also possibly indicate that Ms. Decker is being groomed as a potential candidate to succeed Chief Executive Terry Semel upon his eventual retirement. This is the first time Ms. Decker, 43 years old, has formal responsibility for a part of the company’s operations. (“I don’t think this announcement is about this,” said Ms. Decker. “It’s about bringing a great executive into the company.”)
Update: Just got of the phone with a spokeswoman from Yahoo who explained more about the new set-up. Local stays together and reports jointly to Schneider, who will be responsible for local listings strategy, and Jeff Weiner, SVP, Search. Weiner was responsible for most of the groups now reporting to Schneider, with the exception of personals and HotJobs. In his current role, he oversees search, social media and search marketing.